Renfe and Iryo trains collide in central Spain

A state-operated Renfe train collided with the rear of a private Iryo train on Wednesday morning in central Spain, leaving multiple passengers injured and several others dead. The crash occurred on the high-speed line connecting Madrid to Seville.

Josimar Medina, a Peruvian national, was traveling in the seventh carriage of the Renfe service. He woke at approximately 9 a.m. to find himself airborne and moving rapidly through the car. Medina and his girlfriend, Vitoria Maia, escaped with minor injuries. They were positioned behind the point of impact, a factor they credited for their survival.

The Iryo train was struck from behind. Fredrich Barilea, who was riding on the Iryo service with his partner Arabella Barilea, was thrown forward by the force of the collision. The couple, who are from the Philippines and reside in Dubai, reported that a passenger shouted for everyone to exit the train immediately. They warned that another train might strike the wreckage. The Barileas evacuated the car and moved as far from the tracks as possible. Many surrounding passengers had head injuries and were covered in blood.

The accident took place near the small town of Urda in the Castilla-La Mancha region. The site was located among vineyards and olive groves, close to the city of Toledo. Local emergency services from Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid quickly filled the streets. A local sports center in Urda was converted into a triage area for patients who could walk. Buses transported the lightly injured survivors to the town.

Medina wore a light brown T-shirt stained with the blood of a young American man he helped move to safety. He described seeing passengers with deep cuts, missing limbs, and crushed heads. One person had no body below the chest. Medina and Maia assisted the injured while waiting for medics and Guardia Civil officers to arrive on the scene.

Arabella Barilea stated that the table at which they sat vanished during the impact. She described the event as happening in a split second. The couple said they felt they were living a second life. They expressed gratitude for surviving the crash. The Barileas noted that they were too shocked to recall exactly where the buses had taken them after the initial evacuation.